Virulence
by Tiger Rex
Summary: On the trail of a potentially devastating disease, Sakura will go anywhere in search of the source. KakaSaku.
1. Prologue: I can explain

**A/N**: To set the scene... War is over (yay) and three years have passed.

* * *

**Prologue: "I can explain."**

"I can explain."

Biting her lip anxiously, Sakura tried to keep eye contact through the steel bars but found his usually impassive gaze far too intense. His hands were even more unsettling as his long fingers steadily tapped the wooden table between them. He never usually fidgeted, betraying the calm that strangers may have attributed to the slow tapping. To them, he might have looked bored. She knew better.

Kakashi was annoyed. Not angry but most definitely disappointed.

Ultimately, she wasn't sure if her explanation even mattered. Kakashi certainly never bothered with authentic excuses, often blaming black cats and roads of life for his renowned tardiness. From the look of him, he wouldn't even listen fully to her carefully thought through plan that had definitely _not_ been the product of excessive drinking and coincidental encounters.

If he were Naruto, she'd have no problem shouting at him that she knew what she was doing. If he were Tsunade, she'd probably have been pulled through the bars by now into four-inch-wide Sakura slices. If he were Sasuke... Hell, Sasuke wouldn't have even bothered showing up.

Kakashi, however, merely dropped his intense stare and smiled under his mask. She then breathed a sigh of relief; she had forgotten how intimidating the Copy-Nin could be from when he used to be her teacher. Even then, he had never given her _that _look, always giving her small doses of positive encouragement and never pushing her as hard as the boys. The award for strictest teacher would always go to Tsunade, along with every other teacher award unless 'Most disinterested'was somehow a category. Usually it was Sakura glaring at him; he _did _openly read porn in front of her.

Despite that, Sakura had given up on being teacher's pet a long time ago. If she was still sensitive and raw about how Kakashi treated her, she could have felt hurt that it had taken over a day for him to notice her absence.

"Well?" he asked, in a manner reminiscent of being in class again under Iruka when she had been too distracted staring at Sasuke to listen to him drone on about Konoha's history. As a ten year old, she'd spluttered and blushed.

Nine years later, Sakura was still spluttering.

She glanced to the guard standing thirty feet away, satisfied that if they spoke quietly enough he would not hear. It appeared the pair next to them were too preoccupied to eavesdrop as they were having the next best thing to a conjugal visit, stroking each other's hands and whispering dirty things about what they would do to each other if the bars weren't there.

Sakura overheard something being hot and wet then quickly tuned out.

"I went to do some reconnaissance."

"In a bar?" Kakashi asked, sniffing lightly. He didn't even need to say "_You stink of alcohol"_. Damn his supernatural senses and damn the showering times being restricted and damn her mild hangover she hadn't bothered to heal. "I thought we had agreed you would stay—"

"_I'm _the mission leader, Kakashi-sensei," she interrupted, indignant.

It sounded awfully juvenile and only drew attention to the catastrophic situation the 'mission leader' had found herself in, when she was meant to be the utter professional and prove to him – and to Tsunade – that she was capable of taking charge outside of the hospital.

He'd told her to stay in that tiny little hostel and she had done what she had done out of spite since flipping her former teacher the bird had seemed a little too unprofessional. It was only intended to be one drink, and she would have returned before him with the copy ninja none the wiser.

She should have learned that things rarely pan out as she expected them to. If genin Sakura had her way, she'd be Mrs Uchiha now, a stay at home mother with lots of babies. Chuunin Sakura would have still been Mrs Uchiha but working in the hospital. Jounin Sakura, however, was supposed to be an independent, intelligent, powerful woman – like Tsunade with a little less alcohol and gambling dependence.

"Anyway," she continued, aware that visiting time was running out.

The last thing she wanted Kakashi to do was actually break her out of here. Both because she needed to complete her mission, and she didn't want to carry on relying on the male members of Team Kakashi to bail her out. It could only happen so many times before it became a 'thing'and Sakura did not want 'damsel-in-distress' to be _her '_thing'.

"I came across the target after they—" she inhaled sharply and unconsciously rubbed at her palms, remembering the blood, "—took care of our contact. I followed them and she handed herself in."

"She brought herself_ here_?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yes."

"Here, in a mental asylum," he stated sardonically.

Sheepishly, she glanced to her fellow inmates. Dressed in uniforms that must have been sparkling white once but were now a dull grey, barefoot and with their respective numbers inked both on the back of their shirts and along their collarbones.

_6-10-84 _was hers.

"It's the psychiatric unit of the island's prison," she corrected.

He sighed. "And here I thought you'd finally snapped, Sakura."

"Who could blame me?" she retorted, only half-joking. He'd been frustrating the whole mission so far with his aloof attitude yet deliberately mentioning things to get a rise out of her. At least back in Konoha she could unload her frustrations on others – 'Naruto the punch bag' was great stress relief – but she'd been stuck with _him_ the whole time with his porn and his mask and his insubordination. "Anyway, we've been here for a week and this was the first lead we had."

Kakashi scratched his chain. "Ah," he pondered, "But could you please enlighten me why you had to be taken away as well? I am sure you should have no problem escaping though it might be difficult to stick to our mission brief completely."

A key component of said mission brief had been that under no circumstances should they reveal themselves as shinobi. They were rare here and after the Great Shinobi War, those countries that did not have hidden villages were becoming distrustful of any ninja. Not that she could blame them after the sheer devastation Madara's ambition had caused.

"I think that there's something here, in the facility. A drop off or a contact. One of the inmates here must have something to do with it since this has to be the only way for them to discuss their plan. If I can find out who it is, we might be closer to finding the source."

"Speculation," Kakashi frowned.

"It's the best thing we've had. I'm notgoing to let this spread further," she hissed.

Kakashi had only been doing reconnaissance for a week. Before this mission, Sakura had been pursuing information for months. She had pointed out to Tsunade the worrying reports. She had identified the areas that had been affected. She had intercepted the coded messages, all pointing to _this _location, to _this _person. Needless to say, she was becoming increasingly impatient.

And she would rather spend the rest of her days in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut than let it slip away from her.

"Besides," she added, "It's not like you would exactly blend in here." As funny as the image might be of Kakashi wearing a sock-filled bra and putting on a high-pitched voice.

During the former student and teacher's intense argument, the couple next to them had gotten more intense in a different manner, kissing through the bars. The bars were still too thick though so the end result was essentially the pair just licking each other's tongues. The guards had marched over to separate them and decided this was a good time to bring the visiting session to a close. More wardens in their pale blue uniforms with their white clinical face masks entered to take the visitors away.

Kakashi did not protest and slumped away in his usual unenthusiastic manner. At the door, he turned slightly to consider her with his good eye.

He looked... worried.

She gave him a small wave and a smile, hoping her Will of Fire was going to be enough.

* * *

That Will of Fire was a bit put out by that evening.

"Shower time!" the other inmates all giggled happily, bundling by the door to try to be the first one out. The woman who had been part of the overly affectionate couple earlier had already started taking off her clothes.

"In an orderly fashion, please," called the guards on the other side of the door. After some pushing and shoving, a queue did start to form and Sakura took her place at the back. Once the guards were satisfied, they opened the doors.

The first room appeared to be a changing room but there were no doors to hide behind, just a large laundry basket for them to throw in their uniforms.

The others stripped without hesitation, despite the two men in the room.

Showing her naked body didn't bother Sakura that much. She could consider the situation with her cool, professional 'medic-nin' hat on and detach herself from any personal insecurities. When performing physicals, it got to a point where she'd seen everything and accepted that bodies came in all shapes and sizes and so on with the cliché.

However, it was clear the two guards did not have their cool, professional 'warden' hats on by the way they were staring at the lusty woman's body.

_Cool and professional. Cool and professional._

It was a mantra she repeated to herself as they were ushered to the 'Wet Room', another room of a similar size with ten shower heads in one corner and a non-slip rubber floor.

The two guards approached the opposite corner though where another warden had entered through a door marked 'STAFF ONLY'.

"Ah, you must be the new guy! Ebisu, right? You're just in time, heh heh."

Sakura glared at the three men, though she couldn't really see the features of this 'Ebisu' except for his...

Gravity-defying light grey hair.

Suddenly the mantra changed to a long, drawn out scream. She was quick to jump into the gathering of ladies under the shower heads, earning a few tuts as she stepped on their toes and elbowed her way into the furthest corner.

_What the hell is he doing _here_?!_

* * *

**A/N:** So... I haven't written fanfiction for like five/six years. Recently, I re-read my favourite fanfiction stories and I was sad to see that the best author ever **Silvershine **had stopped updating. I don't know if anyone else gets this, but it's ruined all other fanfiction for me. If you haven't read her stuff, stop reading this and go read _all _her stuff. Then feel depressed that there's been no more updates and come back here. Actually, don't come back here straight away because this is gonna look like garbage next to her work. Wait a month, work through your withdrawal symptoms _then _come back. (Like seriously, should we arrange some sort of group counselling session?)

So I'm writing fanfiction because I'm frustrated and I'm taking it all out on you in this author's note (at least I put it at the bottom).

Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Second Choice Kakashi

**Chapter 1: Second Choice Kakashi**

* * *

Two months had passed since a fishing boat swept up on the shores of Hot Water Country. The ship and its crew had been missing for weeks. While it was not unheard of for fishing vessels to make detours to more unsavoury parts of the world during their travels, the behaviour was very out of character for the family run business.

Upon inspection of the vessel, most of the crew – the father, his teenage son and his brother – were found dead. The youngest son was still breathing but was reported to be very weak with flu-like symptoms, skin hot to the touch, and an angry rash across his face.

He had been taken to the local doctor who diagnosed the boy with viral meningitis shortly before he passed away. However, it did not explain the deaths of the adults – who should have had stronger immune systems than the small boy – nor their inability to bring the ship back in a journey that should have taken at most two days even in bad weather.

Samples had been collected during the autopsies, but they were never analysed. The doctor and all those that had come in contact with the boy had died the following week. The general practitioner had at least recognised the symptoms and issued a quarantine among anyone that had come in contact with any of the rescue team or himself.

The death toll of that particular event had been limited to six. Some estimations were coming in to give a total body count of fifty, a relatively small number given the number of separate cases, mainly focused to small fishing villages on the beaches of Hot Water Country and not managing to travel far inland before dying out.

Sakura had been filtering the Hokage's letters as she usually did to remove the debt collector's threats and the casino's invitations when she came across the reports from a contact based in Hot Water Country. They did not seem worried, blaming the bad weather and lack of money for vaccines. It paled in comparison to the effects of a proper tailed beast rampage, or an all-out Shinobi War. And that country sure knew about that, having evacuated its population so its land could be razed to the ground by the greed and corruption of one man.

Highly contagious and with a high – if not 100% – mortality rate, it certainly was of concern to her. She had taken it to Tsunade, who merely told her to keep an eye on it.

"Sometimes the viral strains are particularly vicious. But its high mortality rate will be its downfall. Let the daimyo decide what is best – though I hardly expect him to close all their ports."

Not a response Sakura had been particularly happy with but the simple fact was that it wasn't Fire Country's problem. They had enough budgeting problems without sending funds and medic-nin to the Hot Water Country to research a vaccine.

Then more cases emerged in Lightning Country and Frost Country. A week later, similar reports materialised in Fire Country and Water Country. Suddenly the epidemic became a pandemic.

Tsunade set her to devote all her attention to the mysterious virus. Shizune assisted at times but the sannin couldn't afford to lose both her assistants while she was trying to get Naruto acquainted with the sheer volume of desk work the Hokage was expected to do. He was reaching Kakashi-level with his tactics to sneak out of the office when bored.

And so she spent her time out of the hospital pouring over maps, using compasses and rulers to identify the possible places the ships could have come from.

She was also convinced the disease was transmitted in bodily fluids – reports of infection usually followed being coughed, sneezed or vomited on. She passed on her findings to the other countries and sterile face masks became a common sight in villages along the coast line.

Konoha itself seemed unfazed by the reports. They were far enough from the ocean and really it would have to exceed five hundred deaths before the village became worried. That was a common belief of a ninja – they expected their death to come from being on the wrong side of a kunai rather than the 'flu'.

"Sakura!"

In the middle of lifting a heavy atlas from a shelf, Sakura was unprepared for the orange-clad cannonball to tackle her. They both fell in a heap along with half the books on the shelf.

If she hadn't recognised the chakra signal, her immediate response might have been to knock them out cold. Considering who it was, she just gave him a chakra-laden smack on the back of the head.

"Naruto, you idiot!" she hissed.

"Ouch!" She was tempted to give him another one for complaining but he was immediately on his feet and dragging her into a bear hug. "It's so good to be back! I went to the hospital and they said you'd be here."

"Have you debriefed with the Hokage yet?"

Naruto gave her a blank look. "I was just visiting Gaara. Dropping off some scrolls, picking up some scrolls, showing him some of my cool new moves... Hey, hey have I shown you the Super Ultimate Rasengan Version Two yet?"

He had, actually. She couldn't say she had noticed the difference between that and the first Super Ultimate Rasengan. As long as you smiled and clapped, Naruto was satisfied.

"Naruto, you of all people should be making sure to stick to procedure. If the elders don't think you're taking these diplomatic missions seriously, they won't approve you when Tsunade nominates you as the Rokudaime."

He waved a hand. "Bah! Granny can wait. She's just gonna unload more of her paperwork on me anyway. Do you wanna go out for ramen?"

Even at the word 'ramen', the loud groan of her stomach answered for her. "Sure," she sighed. "Just help me put these books back."

With the help of a few shadow clones, the books were back on the shelf within seconds. He extended his arm like a gentleman – maybe Shizune's lessons on etiquette were going somewhere – which she gladly took with a smile. She had missed him too; she did feel a bit lonely without him there. Ino was the only other friend she regularly saw but the Ino-Shika-Chou team was a highly requested team for missions, their fame as the best team since the sannin's early days.

That could have been Team 7, if one of them hadn't defected and tried to murder his former teammates multiple times before returning as a 'good guy' just in time for the biggest battle the continent had ever seen. Tsunade had laughed her ass off when she received the reports of him wanting to be Hokage. Apparently, she had a pretty low estimation of "the Uchiha brat" and said something along the lines of "I bet Fugaku is rolling in his grave... Just wait 'til the old farts hear _this_."

As if he was capable of reading her thoughts, Naruto pointed to the lone dark-haired figure already seated at Ichiraku. "Ah look! Sasuke is already here."

Sakura froze, blood draining from her face as an instinctive 'fight or flight' mechanism kicked in, screaming at her _flight, flight, flight_. She'd been praised for her quick thinking, and yet she was all too aware that she wasn't coming up with an excuse fast enough. Hospital work, training, washing her hair, menstrual cramps, anything would do...

"Ino!"

"Huh?"

"I forgot that I'm seeing Ino for lunch."

"But I just saw Ino eating lunch at the barbeque place with Shikamaru and Chouji. Hey, are you avoiding him? Has the bastard done something?"

Naruto had never been known as the most perceptive ninja. She had been avoiding Sasuke for over a year now and today marked almost five months since she'd even had to exchange words with him, which was surprising considering they were both often confined to the village; Sakura was preoccupied with her investigation and Sasuke was still limited by his probation to one mission per month within the borders of the country.

Even their last interaction could barely be called that. He had come to visit Tsunade and she was covering Shizune while she was taking Tonton to the vet.

"_I'm here to see Tsunade."_

"_She's with someone."_

"_I was told to come at noon. It's noon."_

"_And I've just told you she's already seeing someone. You have to wait."_

"_Hmph."_

He was frustratingly obsessive about his appointments. She wondered if it was ingrained into the Uchiha bloodline or a by-product of his messed up upbringing. She might have been a little abrupt but it was hard to be nice to someone you disliked strongly. Not hated. Disliked _strongly_.

And then she realised the person she 'strongly disliked' had turned at the voice of the most obnoxious ninja in the village.

"Oi, Sasuke! What have you done to upset Sakura?"

It had been too long and she wasn't mentally prepared for them to make eye contact. Obsidian met emerald for a split second before she abruptly turned on her heel and sprinted away.

"Sorry, Naruto, I have errands to run!" she called behind her, feeling every bit the weak kunoichi she had once been accused of. When she said it would be them watching her back, she hadn't quite meant it like this.

Sakura knew it was only a matter of time before Naruto would run after her so she entered the nearest shop – a bookshop, to be precise – and masked her chakra, marching straight to the back of the store to catch her breath.

"Running from something, Sakura?" a familiar voice drawled.

"What the hell? Is there some sort of reunion going on today?" The outburst was meant to be an inner thought but the shock of seeing him had made her old alter-ego emerge. He didn't say anything, just raising the grey brow above his right eye. "Uh, I mean, hello, Kakashi-sensei. Long time no see."

It _had _been a long time. Even longer than from when she'd last spoken to Sasuke. She saw him occasionally with his new genin team – well, she saw them more often than their teacher as she would take pity on them waiting around for him and take them out to lunch – or reading his book on a rooftop. After a while, she had stopped trying to get his attention to have an awkward conversation and ignored him just as he ignored her. The last she had even heard his name mentioned was when Tsunade was moaning about Naruto's moaning. She had wanted to retire after the war and tried to get Kakashi to take the Hokage title. He was not at all interested; he told her he never wanted it anyway and there was no need for him in the time of peace. He was a soldier, not a politician. The Godaime had lamented not using some physical persuasion and both Sakura and Naruto had prayed that she meant the violent kind.

"Hello," he greeted, his eye creasing in what everyone understood to mean that Kakashi was smiling. "So who were you running from?"

She feigned nonchalance, despite knowing that he'd most likely seen her rush her way to the back of the store out of breath. "This is my favourite bookstore, Kakashi-sensei. And I'm just here to get a new book." Without looking carefully, she reached out and grabbed a book with a dark red cover. "And here it is, so it was nice to see you, goodbye." Walking over to the till, she was confused by the odd look the cashier gave her. Eager to escape the awkward atmosphere (the hairs on the back of her neck told her the copy-nin was still staring at her), she paid quickly and left the store before glancing down to see what book she had just bought.

_Icha Icha Violence._

Mortified, Sakura searched for the best place to dispose of the filth she'd just unwittingly purchased. A bin was very conveniently located within throwing distance and she did not hesitate to throw the book away. Far less embarrassing than going back and asking for a refund.

* * *

Let it never be said Kakashi Hatake ran away from nothing. He ran away from many things, ranging from being forcibly anointed Hokage to a poetry competition with Gai.

Today, he was hiding from his genin team.

They were okay, he supposed, and so far so good compared to his previous team. No demons, intense love-triangles or only-living-members-of-a-clan-slaughtered-by-clan-prodigy. They were just so clingy in a manner Team 7 had never been. Team 7 had accepted Kakashi's constant laziness and even grown to account for it by arriving two hours after the arranged time.

That had irked him a bit, so he'd started turning up just one hour late and made them all do laps on their hands – Gai was a great inspiration – to teach them a lesson about... something. He couldn't remember what reason he'd given them now. They turned up on time for a while (and he did not) then the cycle repeated itself.

The current Team Kakashi, though, were seemingly intent on punishing _him_. If he was late, they somehow found him in all his of usual haunts. He expected his former students were to blame and yet short of him relocating the memorial, finding a better reading spot or moving apartment, he couldn't do anything about it except sigh and try to train them beyond exhaustion so they wouldn't bug him the next day.

Yet still they returned day after day for another dose of punishment. He was just grateful he didn't have children of his own. Where did they find all that energy?

This day, however, was Kakashi's day. He was going to read his book in peace and maybe make a request for a mission to do some more light reading. Long-haul missions were great for that.

At the sound of someone running to the back of the bookstore he was currently concealing himself in, there was a moment of panic where he thought one of his students had found him. The flash of pink hair put him at ease; it was a student but he was pretty sure she wasn't here for him. She'd been ignoring him for months.

He couldn't say he knew of anything Sakura should be running away from though. She was Tsunade's apprentice, the best friend of the nine-tailed fox and had fallen in love with 'The Avenger'. His curiosity piqued, he asked her outright what she was running from.

She wasn't forthcoming with an explanation, just picked up a book and quickly moved to pay. It would have been strikingly obvious she was trying to get away from him as soon as possible (was he really that bad?) even without her picking up something he knew she would never normally touch.

He followed her out, intent on apologising for whatever slight he had caused when he witnessed something he personally took to great offence.

She _threw away _Icha Icha.

Kakashi was not above rooting through bins. He'd done it as a small boy when D-rank missions didn't pay the food bills and even on the occasional reconnaissance mission he'd had to dig through trash. He'd once had to go rooting through a sewer pipe for a piece of 'priceless' jewellery. He didn't need the Sharingan to tell the huge diamond pendant was a fake but he took his well-deserved payment and spent about a week in the bath-house.

Rescuing the precious work of art from the trash receptacle, Kakashi brushed off the cover and put it away in his pouch. Poor Jiraiya was probably horrified even beyond the grave.

Kakashi sighed and made his way to the Hokage tower via the rooftops to make sure that his younger students did not manage to apprehend him on the way.

"Yo," he greeted the Hokage as he sat by her window. The Godaime paused from lifting the cup of sake to her lips then downed the whole thing. It wasn't even 2 o'clock yet – something was wrong in Konoha.

"Ah, Kakashi," she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve then proceeded to pour another cup. "Care to join me?"

"No thank you, Lady Tsunade. Just wondering if you have any missions."

"Missions? Isn't the chuunin exam in a couple of months? Shouldn't you be training your little genin team? Actually," she smiled and Kakashi could almost see the light bulb illuminate above her head. "This is perfect. Yes, yes I have a mission for you. A long one. How does three weeks sound?"

He could read the entire Icha Icha collection. Twice.

After letting himself in through the window, Tsunade relayed the reports of a viral disease that had plagued fishing villages along the coast. There had been a development and she needed an expert tracker to aid the lead investigator.

A knock on the door. "And here she is. Come in, Sakura." Their former student entered, met Kakashi's eye then looked away sheepishly. He knew she knew he knew what book she picked up. Just wait until she knew he knew what she did to the book afterwards. Oblivious to the awkward tension in the air, Tsunade wasted no time with her questions. "Have you identified the source yet?"

Sakura shook her head, still careful to avoid Kakashi's gaze. "No. I'm getting close, I know it. But there's still seven or so islands that are all within range."

"I see." Tsunade pinched her nose as she usually did when she had a migraine. "In any case, the matter is becoming even more urgent. The letter we intercepted appears to be from a person involved. And apparently we haven't seen the full scale of this... bio weapon."

Green eyes widened. "A... weapon? Without any samples, I assumed it was a random mutation of a pre-existing pathogen." Kakashi thought it sounded like a reasonable guess. From what Tsunade had told him, this disease was being spread by ships and ship crews were notorious for their poor hygiene. The villages affected had nowhere near the standard of medical facilities that Konoha boasted. "But with the high mortality rate and the quick burn-out, this makes perfect sense."

"Indeed. And we are running short on time."

Tsunade tossed the scroll to her. The Water Country had taken to intercepting random birds in the hope that one would lead to this very moment and the fact that they had sent it to Sakura – who Kakashi had learned was unofficially leading the inter-village investigation of the disease – showed the trust Kiri was willing to give Konoha. After all, the Hidden Village of the Mist was well-known for its large number of missing-nin rather than the medic-nin the Leaf Village possessed.

With shaky fingers, Sakura unrolled the thin parchment and held it in a position that enabled them both to read it. At the top was the message, inviting Arashi to the wedding of Giichi and Mariko in the spring. The message itself was not what drew his eye; it was the chakra seal at the bottom, disguised as an ornate pattern. A short burst of chakra from Sakura and a new message appeared.

_Model viral system judged to be success – weaknesses identified. Please be advised the final stages of production should commence soon. Sending kunoichi to visit to collect data for Boss in two weeks. Be ready._

"This is a B-rank mission; I estimate it will take three weeks if one of the Water Country islands is the location of their lab. As soon as we have identified a likely area, you are to leave immediately. Sakura, as you have been investigating this, you will be mission leader. You will also require a tracker and so—"

"I'd like to take Kiba," Sakura interrupted.

Kakashi tried not to feel insulted, he really did, but when your former student made it abundantly clear that you were not welcome on her team, it hurt a little. Even his heart constricted as he wondered what on Earth he'd done to offend her so terribly. This wasn't just embarrassment from the book shop – especially considering she'd been avoiding him long before that – this was personal.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade frowned. "Is there something going on between you two I don't know about?" Had there been? He couldn't recall doing anything particularly nasty. Not since she'd left his tutelage anyway.

Sakura faltered. "No, it's not that. It's just that, as mission leader, Kiba would be my first choice of tracker."

"That may be so but Akamaru is a little too inconspicuous for this mission. You cannot draw attention to yourselves; some Water Country islands despise shinobi due to the Bloody Mist's reputation and these people cannot know you're on their trail. You'll just have to take your second choice, Sakura. Kakashi's nose is probably just as good."

From the frown on Sakura's face, Kakashi doubted his name even appeared in the top ten.

"Now," the Hokage huffed, lifting a large scroll then unrolling it across her desk. It appeared to be a map of the continent. "Point out these islands you've nailed it down to."

Sakura indicated an isolated crop of islands located in the south-west of the Water Country.

"Here," Kakashi gestured to one of the islands before Sakura had even pulled her hand back. "We have to go here." Both the sannin and her apprentice turned to him with disbelief.

"H-how? How can you know?" Sakura asked, obviously angry that he'd just outshone her.

"You wouldn't have known – and really, I only know because I've been there, but this particular island is the only place it could be. The reason all the fishing boats have been in this area are that the warmer climate boasts many fish and the most expensive delicacies. However, they all have to stop at this island to purchase a permit to fish in those waters. As you can imagine, the island's mayor has done very well out of it. You're looking for a lab right? This is the only place where you could build something like that and no one would bat an eyelid.

"There is an issue though," he continued. "You were right to say that we need to keep a quiet profile. The mayor's paranoia has resulted in shinobi being banned from the island, unless of course they're a part of the security task force."

After Kakashi and Tsunade discussed more of the particulars such as methods of correspondence and how to deal with the kunoichi (where Sakura was markedly quiet), Sakura and Kakashi left together. He did note her silence and hoped to begin the mission with a good start.

"So, captain Sakura, when do you want to meet at the village gates?"

"Don't patronise me, Kakashi-sensei," she said in a huff. "I know you want to make _all _the decisions because I'm going to be such a _bad _mission leader."

_Uh..._

"I'm going to go pack my stuff. I'll be waiting for you at the village gates."

"How does three o'clock sound?" he suggested with a smile.

"Does it matter what time we say?" she called out as she walked away, her frustration evident in every stamp of her feet. "You're going to keep me waiting anyway."

As he watched her turn the corner out of his sight, Kakashi groaned and rubbed his eye. So much for that 'good start'.

* * *

**A/N**: The reasons behind Sakura's dislike for Sasuke (and Kakashi) will eventually be explained, if anyone was wondering.

Thank you for all your lovely reviews. Please continue to feed me with your words and I'll continue to feed you mine?


	3. On a Boat

**Chapter 2: On a Boat**

* * *

It took them two days of non-stop travelling to arrive at Kaikou, a port town on the east coast of Fire Country. Every civilian they had seen seemed to be following the guidelines Sakura had sent out, wearing white clinical masks. Sakura had put hers on while Kakashi was always ready for such a situation.

"I have a new theory for your mask," said Sakura conversationally to him.

He glanced to her, surprised she was talking to him after forty-eight hours of uncomfortable silence. "Hm?"

She did feel bad for being so rude to him in Tsunade's office, especially since he had arrived at the village gates dead on three o'clock. She should not have let her feelings of Kakashi stealing her thunder interfere with this mission, nor her residual abandonment issues. If Kakashi hadn't dropped her without so much as a 'Good luck, kid', she might never have become Tsunade's apprentice and unlocked her true potential in chakra control.

The only thing that she really took exception to was that while he was ignoring her in the street, he was still acting overprotective of her. If not for Tsunade's drunk rambling about his interference a year ago when she requested to join ANBU, she would have assumed he had forgotten she even existed.

The one thing she anchored herself to after the war had been her identity as one of the most powerful kunoichi in the continent who did not need her teammates for back-up. It made the nights easier when she would dream of what could have been and yet never was. When she and Sasuke had fallen out, ANBU had seemed like a good idea. It was something to take her mind off the last Uchiha and keep her out of the village.

She had been wrong. Kakashi had been right. And that had pissed her off more than anything else. He hadn't believed in her, and he had been spot on.

Sakura wasn't even meant to know that he was the only one that had opposed her promotion. The voting was supposed to be anonymous among the current ANBU captains and elite jounin and even the blabbermouth Tsunade did not recall telling Sakura the results. They had both been incredibly drunk, commiserating Sakura's utter fail of her first and only ANBU mission.

"_That brat Kakashi was right the whole time. He was your teacher for what... six months? You've been my apprentice for five years and I pushed you into doing something you weren't ready for. Damn geniuses... genii... Fucking know-it-alls. "_

Despite the inebriation, Sakura remembered. That night she had gone home and sobbed, covering her sofa cushion with tears, saliva and mucus. Not for her failed mission but for succeeding in meeting Kakashi's low expectations of her. She had felt too embarrassed to confront him and that was when she decided to treat him like-for-like.

However, this was going to be a long mission and they needed to get over this awkwardness. She had to move on to show him she could succeed when it mattered. She had grown beyond the insecurities that had plagued her as a child.

"You're mysophobic." At his blank stare, she clarified, "You're a germaphobe. It explains everything: your refusal to show your face and you skipping out on your hospital check-ups."

"You've got me," he admitted flatly. "It's also why I hate children and bio-yogurt."

"Yogurt?" she questioned.

"The bacteria."

"Ah," Sakura grinned. "I've finally cracked the case. I guess Naruto's theory of you being horrifically ugly is totally untrue then?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Absolutely. I am a gorgeous specimen of a man."

Even with the resentment she felt for this man who had not believed in her and been proved right, she found herself grinning at his lack of modesty. He did have that effect on people. While Kakashi and Sasuke both had that 'loner' personality, Kakashi still managed to come off charismatic while Sasuke rivalled Sai with his inability to take part in friendly banter.

"Why don't you show me?" she teased. The masked ninja rubbed his jaw; even covered with black cotton, his former student could see it was made of sharp angles to complement his chiselled cheekbones. She imagined there would be a slight tan line but it must not have detracted from the beautiful visage he was bound to have if the number of swooning women were anything to go by.

"With all these germs around? No thank you."

She was grateful for the joke to come to an end. If she spent much longer staring at his face, she might have reached over and yanked the mask down without permission. It wasn't healthy to fantasize how soft your former sensei's skin might be.

If Kakashi was afraid of germs, she would certainly understand that sentiment here. The town seemed to have a thin layer of filth spread across everything. It was a stark contrast to the pristine condition of their Hidden Village. Of course, it often was the civilians that took the longest to rebuild after world-changing events. Poor Tenzou was used extensively to the point of abuse whenever Konoha needed his 'skills'.

The sun was setting on the horizon and the numerous ships docked cast long shadows along the rows of rowdy taverns and seedy brothels that had managed to survive the political unrest. After the threat of almost dying, there was nothing like alcohol to dull the senses and a warm body to work off the adrenaline. It was why there had been a baby boom nine months after Madara had been defeated.

With the amount of people walking around in masks, it was ironic that some obviously had no qualms exchanging bodily fluids in the pursuit of a good time.

Now they had reached the port, the effect of running straight for two days finally took hold of her as she leant against a brick wall. The pungent stink of dried urine assaulted her senses even through her mask and she immediately pushed away in disgust. She considered asking Kakashi which tavern he thought looked the least sordid for booking rooms but they could sleep on whichever ship they took to the island.

It would have been much faster to travel on foot over the sea but if the waves grew too strong, they could become stranded. It would also be a little hard to keep their identities as ninja under wraps should one of the island's many patrol ships – used to ensure the strict fishing regulations were being adhered to – come across a man and woman walking on water.

They had left Konoha already dressed in 'civilian clothes' but they hadn't put much effort into it, just removing their hitai-ate, bandages and flak jackets. Kakashi had managed to brush his hair over his left eye to hide the scar; the fact that Kakashi could tame his hair (somewhat) was a bit of a revelation to Sakura, who had assumed he hadn't touched a brush for years. She had also swapped her usual combination of beige skirt and black shorts for her 'everyday' black skirt.

After checking with crew of the ships, they were surprised to find almost every ship was going to the island Shima, their very destination. Most were carrying people at reasonable fares but spaces were limited.

One crew member elaborated the reason. "Apparently, they haven't had any cases of this flu going round. Some people told me they're working on a cure or a vaccine or something. Sounds like crap to me but gives us plenty of cash to just ferry people over."

If they weren't already convinced something or someone on this island was an integral part of the bio weapon plot, these rumours might as well have been a huge red arrow pointing in Shima's direction.

They had more than enough money in their mission budget to cover the cost of passage to Shima. That did not stop Kakashi insisting that they sneak their way onto a ship. The fake identification papers they carried were good as back-ups, but he did not want anyone to scrutinize them too carefully. She did not bother protesting; keeping under budget was fine with her and as mission leader, she was able to decide which would be their transport.

Naturally, she picked the most expensive looking ship. Their crew was dressed in matching forest green uniforms with white gloves and shiny black boots and the passengers had the porters carry large rucksacks and suitcases aboard the ship. A few even had heavy trunks of their personal items.

They slipped into their old Team Kakashi dynamic easier than Sakura would have thought, forming the three seals without any need to consult the other.

Dog. Bear. Ram.

* * *

7 o'clock.

They were behind schedule and in the waning sunlight, Torao was finding it difficult to consult his chart of very important things to do. He squinted at his own messy scrawl as he tried to interpret what the next item on his agenda was. Was that 'buns' or 'bins'? Meanwhile, one of the other porters approached him.

"Mr Rekkusu, Lord Aruji is requesting help with his luggage."

Torao did not look up from his clipboard. "Didn't I send Souta to take care of that?"

"Yes, sir. Souta is already carrying one trunk but he has another one that he needs on the ship."

At that, Torao did look up. "_Another _one? The rules were two items each. We don't have space for any more of his luggage. Let me guess... He told you he has an 'agreement' with the Captain?" At the nervous porter's nod, he sighed and looked around, wondering if they could spare anyone when they were already running late. Every man was already lugging other travellers' baggage or loading supplies onto the ship. Every man except the tall dark-haired man and the shorter blonde man beside him walking quickly towards the ship.

"Hey!" he called out. The blond whirled around, green eyes anxious. His taller friend seemed to try to drag him away but Torao managed to catch up to them as they deliberated. He looked them up and down; their uniforms were immaculate but they did not yet have name badges. New guys, he guessed. "What are you two doing?"

"Boarding the ship," the older man replied authoritatively. He certainly didn't sound like a fresh recruit. Even he, as one of the most senior members of staff on board, felt the need to call him 'sir'. He would happily put him in his place.

"That's 'boarding the ship, sir'. What are your names?" he questioned, his pen ready to scrawl their names in red ink so he would remember to make their first voyage as difficult as possible.

"Shikamaru and Chouji," the dark-haired man gestured to himself then his timid companion who proceeded to give him an evil glare. Not so timid, apparently. Shikamaru seemed to add as an afterthought: "_Sir._"

If he wasn't so behind schedule, he might have launched into a long lecture regarding the proper manner in which to talk to superiors on a luxury liner such as _Emerald Princess_ and that failing to follow these simple rules would have resulted in strict punishments including but not limited to cleaning toilets. And did he mention that some toilets had a tendency to get blocked?

As it was, he just pointed over to Lord Aruji standing impatiently next to a trunk large enough to contain a horse. Dealing with the snobbish aristocrat was punishment enough.

"Well, boys, take that to Lord Aruji's quarters. And then head to the kitchens and help them gut the fish." Strictly, only the kitchen staff dealt with food preparation and porters would sometimes help with the dishwashing. They didn't need to know that.

He swore he saw a flash of relief in Chouji's eye before they marched over to the lord's luggage. He was shocked to see the short man lift the huge leather trunk with ease on his own. Shikamaru instead took Lord Aruji's smaller suitcase and nodded pleasantly when the nobleman threatened to sue them if anything was damaged in transit.

In his astonishment, he failed to notice that the nib of the pen he held to the clipboard had leaked red ink over the page, ruining his vitally important to do list.

* * *

After her long, hot shower and wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe, Sakura was ever so pleased with her choice of transportation. While still under their transformation jutsu, Sakura had managed to obtain a list of unoccupied rooms that did not require bed linen. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of cabins and no suites. None of them were close enough for them to have separate rooms but she'd shared a two-person tent with Kakashi as a genin. She'd also shared a double bed with Naruto, though she'd threatened him with the loss of whatever body part touched her in the night and he had wisely heeded her words. With Kakashi's reputation in the village (that he wasn't interested in you unless you had Icha Icha printed on your body), she didn't even feel the need to warn him.

Her point was proven as she spotted him sitting on the edge of the bed with his nose in his dirty book. She jumped onto the queen-sized bed, hugging a soft feather-filled pillow to her body. She had never stayed in such a fancy room and that they had snuck on made it that much sweeter. She had always been an inner bad girl.

Evidently put off by Sakura's bouncing and happy sighing as she rubbed against the pillow, Kakashi left the book on the bedside table and went into the bathroom.

She glanced at the book, wondering what it held to captivate a man such as Kakashi who was in all aspects other than punctuality and hospital manner, a perfect ninja. He held no real emotional ties, had experience, was fast, intelligent and well-respected and possessed one of the most desirable bloodline limits.

Of course she had read Icha Icha. She'd read one of Naruto's copies – not that he'd known that she'd taken it – and it hadn't been that enlightening. There were a lot of crude jokes, a lot of fighting and a lot more sex but it hadn't really appealed to her. Admittedly, she'd only had one sexual partner and he hadn't exactly been the sex god Jiraiya's main character was purported to be but she could never imagine launching herself at a mysterious man as soon as she saw him in the way every kunoichi in Icha Icha seemed to do.

There was also the fact that every one of the female characters was described by their ample bosom first, which made Sakura and her very average chest feel inferior. Thankfully, as a medic-nin, she'd seen her fair share of breasts and while there were Anko's, Hinata's and Tsunade's, there were also Tenten's, Shizune's and Hana's. With big boobs came back pain and too-small jounin flak jackets; with small boobs came perkiness and the ability to fill out a larger bra with those rubber things Ino had brought back from Iwa on one of her 'diplomatic visits'.

She had actually arranged to see her pen-pal but returned home disappointed when the pictures he sent her turned out to be about fifteen years out of date. She'd teased the pig mercilessly about exchanging dirty letters with an old man for weeks on end and still liked to bring it up when Ino got too annoying.

Kakashi emerged from the bathroom, already wearing his pants and sleeveless vest with his trademark mask. His hair was comically wrapped up in a towel to stop it dripping onto his black shirt. At first, she was staring at his quasi-turban while stifling giggles but stopped when they made eye contact.

Both his eyes were open, and both were a dark shade of brown.

In a move that rivalled the kunoichi in the Icha Icha novels, Sakura launched herself at Kakashi and pulled on his neck to bring him down to her eye level.

They weren't exactly the same colour – Kakashi's own eye was a warmer coffee hue whereas the other iris was darker, almost black. At Sakura's attack, the other eye bled into red and the three tomoe slowly span around the pupil. It was a sight that would turn most men to quivering wrecks but Sakura was fascinated.

"H-how?" she stuttered, watching with rapt attention as Kakashi blinked and the taupe colour returned.

"I was having trouble with my vision and chakra stores last year, so I sought help," he explained. "After a couple of months, I managed to control it. The sight is still poor though and sometimes I get double vision, which is why I keep it shut."

"I can't believe I didn't know!" she exclaimed, letting her chakra into his optical nerve without asking. The Sharingan activated again and she explored the damage along his chakra pathways. Unfortunately the nature of chakra burns was that the scars could not be healed completely; the eye itself saw fine but the message passed to the brain was distorted by the damaged tissue. "You didn't even come into the hospital to show me? Why didn't you come see me?"

"Ow," said Kakashi, blinking away tears when Sakura's chakra touched a particularly sensitive nerve. "I thought Sasuke would have told you he was helping me."

Sakura's hands dropped from his face and her chakra dissipated, along with any trace of excitement at this new revelation.

He had never approached Sakura asking for help, yet he had approached his obviously favoured student. She was the medically trained student and he hadn't even told her he had been having issues. Begrudgingly she recognised it probably made more sense to talk to the person who had experience in the bloodline limit.

"It still would have nice for you to come see me anyway," she muttered as she returned to the double bed. He either did not hear her or pretended not to; he picked up his favourite reading material and sat on the other side of the bed. The rest of the night was silent where she pretended to fall asleep quickly but did not actually drift off until Kakashi had turned off the light.

All her nightmares seemed to merge as one that night. She dreamt she was on a hospital rooftop, standing over the terrified boy with the slashed out hitai-ate on his forehead.

"Do it, Bird," someone with a tiger mask called and chakra enveloped her fist... But the scene changed and she was standing over Naruto in the Forest of Death, aware that with the poisoned sword in her abdomen she had only moments to live yet she had to save him. Then the blade was gone and she held Naruto's heart – no, it was hers – in her hand, trying to pump it manually. Sasuke stood in front of her, his arm through her chest and the song of a thousand birds in the air.

"You won't need this," Kakashi insisted with his trademark eye crease as he took the organ out of her hands.

She tried to protest but no words came out, her blood pressure plummeting and her eyelids growing heavy. Sasuke laid her on a wooden bench under the full moon in a careful movement that was at odds with the gaping hole in her chest. The male members of Team Kakashi stared at her, emotionless.

"Thank you," they chorused before the darkness overtook her.

* * *

**A/N: **Did you guys see my cameo? _Teehee_.

So guys, how was your week? My cat had kittens. My other cat had kittens five weeks ago. I'm in kitty heaven/hell. I haven't decided which yet ('cause fluffy balls of fluff=heaven and poop&crying=hell). I might now have ten cats in my house but I'm not a crazy cat lady, honest.

I really appreciate each and every review – it's really useful for me to see how people are finding the pacing and length of chapters – so please drop me some feedback. Or we could talk about kittens, whatever.

**Next chapter: Alcohol is never the solution**


	4. Alcohol is never the solution

**Chapter 3: Alcohol is never the solution**

* * *

The ship reached Shima on the third day, waiting over four hours for the vessel to be allowed to dock. It took almost as long for the passengers to be allowed off the boat. Upon disembarking the vessel, Sakura understood why.

The harbour was heaving with refugees emerging from a large number of different ships. They were being ushered into queues to lead into other queues to lead into yet more queues. Forms were being handed out for people to fill in but some were illiterate, having trouble with the many questions on the paper. Sakura and Kakashi's answers were mainly half-truths with a few absolute fibs.

Sakura's official title was 'A-rank medic-nin' so 'nurse' was a pretty good alternative. Kakashi was in the killing and spying line of work; he had settled for 'Bookshop owner'. She had scoffed at that – and she was sure it would be filled with books by only one author. Then there were some more intimate questions. Sakura struggled to shield her answers since she last had sexual intercourse and number of sexual partners ("14 months" and "one" were probably her only truthful answers) while trying to snoop on his.

"Six days?" she asked incredulously, noting that he had been with her for five of those six days. The widely held belief that Kakashi satiated any carnal desires with a read of one of his precious novels was obviously wrong.

"Over a year?" he had snapped back without skipping a beat. His one eye narrowed as he looked down at her paper, the gears turning in his head. She angled her body away from his defensively while vainly attempting to see the number of people he had slept with but, mirroring Sakura, he covered the paper with his hand.

It was painfully obvious both wanted to ask the same question – _who?_ – but since neither were prepared to divulge any information, they instead completed the questionnaire with their backs to each other.

After the awkward exchange, they handed their forms to the official. Fortunately, having picked a ship that was carrying the more desirable immigrants, they were fast tracked for their health checks. Women and men were separated and, with their chakra masked to avoid detection by the ninja in the mayor's task force, Sakura had no idea how Kakashi was progressing in the large, white tents.

She was glad at least they had the sense of mind to have female guards. Wearing shapeless overalls, the same paper mask everyone was required to wear and large laboratory glasses, it was clear that the governor of the island was taking this disease very seriously. Then, why would be allowing refugees to enter his city? It greatly increased his risk to take such a huge influx of people and the twenty-foot fences he had erected around the main city no doubt made it difficult for people to leave. Maybe they simply couldn't. Her feelings of uneasiness grew.

Blood samples were taken and Sakura had to resist healing the small needle mark and bruise the rough nurse had given her. Had she never heard of patient care? Without warning, her mask was ripped off and a tongue depressor shoved in her throat, far back enough to trigger her gag reflex.

"Say 'ahh'," the nurse ordered monotonously.

"Ahh," Sakura repeated dutifully, cursing that she had been separated from Kakashi. Another chance to catch her former teacher's face missed.

Satisfied that her levels of white blood cells were within an acceptable range, Sakura was given a new mask – white with a black horizontal line across it – and ushered outside to join the rest of the 'elite' in a new line. Kakashi was already there. He wore his new mask over his current one, as if just to make sure no one was going to remove it again.

"Well, I feel a little violated," he stated glumly. She patted his shoulder with fake pity, wishing she could let the male nurse who had inspected him know how lucky he was.

There was a ruckus at the front of the queue and more guards turned up to protect the noblemen and other Very Important People. One of the aristocrats a few people in front accosted a guard, demanding to know what was going on. Someone in the front had been caught trying to use falsified papers and turned out to be a shinobi, who were apparently banned from entering the town. The guard stepped away to listen to his radio then returned, announcing to their group that the mayor was prepared to enlist more ninja to defend the island from dangerous individuals, but the cost for the visa had just tripled.

A few of the people looked worried at that. Knowing how little they had minded splashing the cash while on the ship, the announcement of this 'utopia' free from infection suddenly made sense. The governor of the island really would use any opportunity to build up his funds.

Sakura and Kakashi exchanged looks. They both knew that first of all, their papers might not be good enough to guarantee entry, and secondly, they were at risk of blowing the whole mission if they were refused entry.

He glanced to the ground pointedly. She nodded then jerked her chin towards an area between two tents that seemed to be where the watchmen had breaks. They had rushed to help with the commotion, which made the site perfect for what Kakashi had suggested.

As the other immigrants continued to stare at the guards struggling to contain the solitary shinobi and grumble about the price of the visa, the two ninja snuck to the gap between the tents.

Kakashi held out his hand. When Sakura grabbed it, he pulled her flush against him. She blanched at the close contact and instinctively pushed away.

"Don't," he warned in a hushed whisper. "You don't want to end up trapped underground."

At that, she held him tight. Unbidden, the question of _who _had been in a similar, albeit horizontal, position with her former sensei six days ago crossed her mind.

He made the hand signals behind her back then the ground swallowed them whole. She had no idea how Kakashi knew where to let them out – or even if he knew at all – but he clearly had not been kidding when he warned her about being stuck down here. At the speed they were moving, the earth was forcing itself into any gap between them. She clutched to him tighter, the fear of being left behind in the dark, cold dirt overriding any embarrassing thoughts of the copy-nin's sex life.

The earth unceremoniously spat them out in front of a building close to the walls but thankfully on the right side. There were only a few people on the street and they did not seem to notice their arrival. That or they didn't care.

It was clearly the run-down district, and did not hold up to the idyllic city life the island's propaganda had promised.

Sakura took another look at the building, noticing the 'Guesthouse - Beds Available' written in red spray paint upon the concrete. The sign on the door was illegible, the green and white paint peeling. She was about to remark about how lucky he had been to emerge here when she remembered that he had been here before.

After smoothing over the disturbed soil – the area was too poor to even bother with paving, it seemed – Kakashi entered the hostel. She hurried in, standing beside him in the lobby. She grinned at the traditional bell on the counter but the smile disappeared at the pathetic jingle it made when she rang it, in need of repair like the front of the inn.

Kakashi cleared his throat. When that also did not yield a response, Sakura called out impatiently.

"Hello?"

"What is it?" a slurred voice replied. A scrawny middle-aged man emerged from the open door, a lit cigarette between his lips and the stench of alcohol assaulted Sakura's nose through the mask. It wrinkled in response.

"A room, please," Kakashi said politely before Sakura could berate the man for his poor customer service and drunken appearance. She was used to giving the same speech to Tsunade and Kakashi must have recognised the look in her eyes.

"It's twenty-five a night." After Sakura placed enough money on the table for the next three days, the man continued to address Kakashi. "Double bed okay for you and your wife?"

"We're not married," Kakashi stated immediately. "Single beds will do."

While she was by no means keen on sharing a bed with her former sensei, his quick refusal made her frown. They had shared two-person tents when she had been a genin, much to Naruto and Sasuke's chagrin when it dawned on them that the other tent was left for them. He teased her that she snored and she was horrified for weeks, worried what Sasuke would think of that trait in a potential wife.

"Very well. You don't need those ridiculous things on your face, you know, there's been no cases of the fisherman's flu here."

Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura decided to keep hers on. Better safe than sorry. Kakashi at least removed one of his masks.

The positioning of their room could not have been more perfect. They were on the top floor with one window in the bathroom facing the harbour and other window looking out on the busy market street. It was late but many lanterns lit the street as merchants continued to peddle their goods to no avail. Many of the new refugees had nothing left and were asking for handouts. In this dilapidated area, no one could afford to be charitable.

The amenities, however, left plenty to be desired. The futons were hard with only a wool blanket and a very low water pressure due to the room being on the top floor. As she twisted the tap all the way in a vain attempt to get a satisfactory flow of water to brush her teeth, she noticed the guards in the port shouting at a ship for unloading its passengers. The immigrants were clothed in rags and cowering away from the uniformed men. Some were on their knees begging but they were manhandled back onto the boat. Meanwhile, a cruiser similar to the one Sakura and Kakashi had snuck on was dropping off their well-dressed travellers who were ushered to the front of the queue.

"This place is disgusting," she said, her blood boiling.

"You never stayed in Kaikou," Kakashi returned from the other room.

She walked back into the room, unable to stand looking out the window anymore. "No, it's not that. It's this stupid entry fee – which, by the way, was never mentioned in all the advertisements. Now only the rich are good enough to be safe and healthy? Tsunade must do something about this mayor."

He sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. It left his scarred eye uncovered but he kept it closed, most likely out of habit. "And what would she do? This isn't Konoha's business. It isn't even Fire Country's business. This kind of corruption is a common thing. I would have thought you were old enough to know that we come from a place where power is everything. Look at the Hyuuga clan; their bloodline limit is incredibly powerful and hence they have a high rank in society with the perks that come with it. Here, money is power.

"Anyway," he continued, changing the subject. "If the governor is intending to increase the shinobi presence in his army, we need to make sure we maintain low profiles. Since we both are in the Bingo Book, it will be difficult without any transformation jutsu. But if they are any good, they will see through it."

Sakura blinked, surprised he knew. Even she had been shocked by her entry, the comments about the likelihood of her being the greatest medic-nin specialist ever known making her blush.

"You... know I'm in there?"

He turned to her, giving her an odd look. "Yes, I knew as soon as the edition came out. You're one of my students, I make sure to keep tabs on all of you, especially with your successes."

_Keep tabs on me? _If that was the case, why had he tried to stop her ANBU promotion? Why hadn't he come to her to discuss it? Why had he hardly said a word to her outside of missions?

"Of course I expected it was long overdue. You're a strong kunoichi, if not one of the strongest Konoha has ever had."

Her heart swelled at the compliment; it was the nicest thing Kakashi had ever said to her and even better, it sounded so genuine.

"You never needed me."

It was surely meant as another compliment, but it only made her ego deflate. He was wrong. She had needed him, many times.

When Naruto had left with Jiraiya, and she had cried every night over their team photo.

When she had to take her chuunin exam and Shizune had to be the one to nominate her.

When Tsunade had fallen ill and she needed another guide for support.

When Sasuke returned and she realised that the boy who left her on that bench was never truly coming back.

When she failed her very first ANBU mission and she learned the hard way that, sometimes, protocol overruled mercy.

"You're right," she whispered, ignoring the way his body slouched even more so than his usual posture. "I never did."

* * *

It was quite rare to see a child in the northern district of Shima. In the west, where they were staying, most of the beggars were young children. They were better equipped with their large, sad eyes to tug on any adult's heartstrings (and Sakura's purse strings) and their small stature made escaping from the guards much easier as they crawled into drains and disappeared in the bustling crowds. In the richer, northern area of the island, children were hidden away behind closed shutters while people continued to fear 'Fisherman's Flu'. Despite the mayor's assurances, the rich immigrants continued to wear masks but replaced the cheap, clinical masks for richly coloured scarves decorated with jewels and gold embroidery.

So for an area hardly frequented by children, Sakura realised the little boy she had seen as she bought a sweet bun from the bakery, and when she was scoping out the ladies' bathhouse, was standing not twenty yards from her.

She watched him out the corner of her eye as she pretended to look over the scarves. She still wore her clinical mask, not wanting to stand out in the poorer quarter, but had taken to wearing head-scarves instead of a henge to cover her hair. She could have dyed it, but any attempts to make it blonde usually made it bright orange – a shade that made her natural colour look subtle in comparison – and the dark colours never seemed to wash out completely.

Considering her next plan of action, she continued to survey him. He appeared to have had some ninja training, his chakra levels above a normal citizen, but the fact he was not masking it indicated he had not had enough training for her to consider him a threat.

Still, it was unsettling to have him stare at her so. She wondered if she should let Kakashi know, but he was back in their room and it would be foolhardy to lead the boy to their home base.

Instead, she nonchalantly walked down a quieter street. As predicted, the boy followed. She took a turn into an alley way then quickly vaulted to a balcony above the street level. A few seconds later, the boy emerged in the same alley, confused.

She dropped down behind him, hoping she was channelling Ibiki's level of dread. To her credit, the boy did jump four feet in the air.

"Why are you following me?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

The boy could not have been older than twelve, his black hair messy and his face covered with freckles rare among the Water Country people. "S-Sorry, miss. It's just... There aren't many like us around. Ninja, I mean."

Her brow furrowed, not wanting to confirm his suspicions if he was a spy for the island's army. They could be particularly brutal when removing any unauthorised shinobi.

"D-Don't worry," he continued, stuttering. "I've watched you. With the children, I mean. You seem much nicer than that other lady."

At this, her larger-than-average forehead smoothed. "Other lady?"

"Yes," he said, growing more confident as Sakura's pose relaxed. "She's horrible, threatening people. When I bumped into her, she said she would slit my throat if she ever saw me again."

"You're from Suna?" she asked, recognising the accent at last. He confirmed he was, or had been, until his father had died in the war and he moved to Water Country with his mother's parents where his academy training had come to an end. Sakura understood that the civilians of Water Country were particularly distrustful of ninja, given the Bloody Mist's reputation.

"Tell me more about this kunoichi."

* * *

"Can you please explain this to me one more time?" Kakashi asked in the most neutral voice he could muster. She had been berating him all week for sounding patronising no matter what he said. Even '_Could you please pass me those chopsticks?' _had been enough to trigger her bad mood swings.

Not that he could blame her; they had been here for nearly a week without any leads and he doubted they would recognise one when they saw it. Everyone on the damn island had something to hide, which made them all act suspicious. He was getting bored with eavesdropping on conversations that were about how they were smuggling fish into the markets from unapproved vessels. It was either that, or affairs. There certainly were plenty of philanderers in Shima.

The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes, pulling off the green headscarf she had used to hide her distinctive hair while on reconnaissance.

"A little boy was following me. He knew I was a ninja and he said he had seen another kunoichi in the village."

"A little boy," Kakashi deadpanned. "How old?"

"Oh I don't know!" Sakura threw her arms in the air, exasperated. "Twelve, maybe?"

Funny she referred to him as a little boy, when 'little boys' his age were soldiers in the war-time. He asked her to relate what she had been told again whereupon she recounted that the boy had told her this certain kunoichi visited The Red Lotus tea house every night in the northern district. He had overheard her tell the owner of the guesthouse where she was staying – which turned out to be his grandparents – she would be leaving the next day.

It was an awfully convenient encounter, and everything screamed at him: 'trap'. Sakura, however, was too frustrated to consider the pitfalls of following the boy's message blindly.

"So what if it is an ambush? At least we can find the kunoichi and put an end to it."

He doubted extracting the kunoichi would be that helpful. The people behind this virus were clever to hire a shinobi as the go-between. Ninja often didn't bother learning more about their employer and discretion was in their job description. They needed to find the scientist on the island, or even better, trail her back to the person that had employed her.

How she would escape the island, when the ships had now started to form a barricade to stop the ships docking and unloading immigrants, was another problem Kakashi was beginning to consider. For all they knew, she could have already had the meeting and left.

"I'll go," he said.

Sakura grew flustered. "What_?_ We should both go, if you think it's a trap!"

"If it is a trap," Kakashi reasoned calmly in the face of the medic-nin's fury, "One should stay here in case the other does not return to send a message to Tsunade."

"Then as mission leader, I say _you _should stay."

Now growing frustrated at her pedantry, he reminded her that she was the one that shared a summons contract with the Hokage, therefore could send messages to the village faster than his dogs could.

"When are you going to stop treating me like a genin?" she huffed. "I can help. I can make my own decisions."

"When you stop acting like Sasuke and Naruto, chasing glory no matter the risks. You know it makes sense for me to track her. My summons are perfect for this situation and can sniff out any ninja hiding. Bull is very good at it."

She crossed her arms, obviously unhappy. He almost felt like mirroring her pose. They had not gelled as well as they had years before where every other conversation seemed to end in an argument. He got the feeling she was still annoyed with him over something but was unprepared to discuss it with him. He wondered if it was to do with Sasuke helping him with the Sharingan, but she had been annoyed with him at the very start, in Tsunade's office.

The bingo book discussion seemed to make it worse, though it had been his attempt at a truce between them. His current genin students moaned he did not give enough praise but he liked to give it where it was due (along with criticisms). So he hadn't turned up outside her apartment with balloons and party poppers, it didn't mean he wasn't proud.

He wasn't sure if he could be proud of any of the achievements of Team 7. They had chosen to take on new mentors and in retrospect, Kakashi probably deserved it. When two out of your three students leave, it's probably best to call it quits and leave the last student – who he understood the least – in much more capable hands.

How Tsunade had managed him to take on another genin team, he would never know. It might have been the threat of nominating him to be the next Hokage instead. Truthfully, he hadn't expected they would pass his test. The suspicion that his former students may have helped them out had crossed his mind; it was probably the same student that had revealed all his favourite haunts.

Eager to escape the thick tension in the room, Kakashi turned to leave the room.

"Stay here. If I'm not back by dawn, contact Konoha."

* * *

Her companion was an awful, big-headed, stupid, porn-reading, mask-wearing, lying, brute of a man.

That was what she told anyone that approached her. They inevitably assumed she meant lover and plied her with more drinks as they tried to persuade her to use a distraction to forget him. She accepted the free drinks, but turned down their offers, revealing the 'brute' to be a work colleague and not a boyfriend.

They would turn away, dejected, and Sakura would happily consume her free drink until it was all gone. She would then resume her moaning about Kakashi, though still careful to never mention his name.

Rinse and repeat.

After several cycles, she was a little bit, perhaps, maybe, possibly too drunk. She had also dropped the mask as no one else in the dimly lit bar seemed to care. What the mayor had said did seem to be true – she had not come across any outbreaks during her walks around the island.

When her bitching about Kakashi became too incomprehensible for even her to know what she was saying, it was time to call it a day lest she disappoint her former teacher anymore.

On unsteady feet, Sakura staggered out of the bar. Inside, it had been warm with the body heat of the many patrons. Outside, the air was cold and crisp. Despite her inebriation, she shivered, still not used to Water Country's cooler climate. Back in Konoha, she never had to worry about taking out a jacket but here she was all too aware that in her frustration, she had left her coat behind. In the meantime, her headscarf would do for a make-shift shawl.

A familiar surge of chakra made her turn. The spike in its level indicated one thing: danger.

She was slower than she would have liked, the alcohol making her movements sluggish. She heard voices before she saw them, and had enough sense to wait around the corner before she emerged. In her state, it took a few moments for her to understand what was being said.

"You've been a busy little boy," a woman's voice hissed. "Telling people my business, my whereabouts. Did you think I wouldn't know? I can smell a ninken a mile off."

"I-I... I don't know what you're talking about." It was the boy from Suna that had tipped her off. She bit her lip, wondering if this mysterious kunoichi had confronted Kakashi. Should she face her, when she was in such a disadvantageous position? Using chakra to burn off the alcohol would only draw attention to her.

"That ninja you set on me. I sensed him waiting at the teahouse, smelled his bloody thumb. As much as I would have liked to feed him to his little dogs, I'm here to do my job then get out of here." She paused and Sakura continued to war with herself over turning the corner. The logical part insisted she at least fetch Kakashi for back up, but the emotional side of her yearned to apprehend this woman and end months of hard work. During Sakura's inner battle, a brief struggle ensued. She looked around the corner to see the kunoichi – red-haired and tall – grabbing the boy by his hair and holding a kunai to his throat.

"Do you remember what I said to you if I ever saw you again?" she asked in a saccharine voice. The boy did not have time to respond and Sakura did not have time to react.

She opened his throat ear-to-ear, blood soaking the both of them.

Sakura was on her before she even realised, her hand coated in deadly chakra. She almost punched her with enough force to knock her head clean off but held back at the last second; they needed the kunoichi alive to find out who had hired her. The red-haired ninja used this moment of hesitation to overpower Sakura, aiming a well-placed roundhouse kick to Sakura's temple. One part of her acknowledged she would have the hangover from hell in the morning.

She wasn't sure how long she laid there, waiting for the world to stop spinning so she knew which way was up. A minute at most. When the sickness abided enough for her to open her eyes, the kunoichi was gone but the boy's body was still warm beside her.

Glassy brown eyes stared skyward as she surveyed his injury. It was a deep cut and he was bleeding out fast. She attempted to close the wound and use chakra as an adhesive but for all her efforts she only had his blood on her hands. She felt for his pulse in his wrist. Nothing. She placed her hand under his shirt on a bony chest. Nothing.

Suddenly she could picture him with a slashed out hitai-ate in a forest where a man with a tiger mask wiped his sword on the grass. _This will be going into the report_, he told her, but she was focused only on the boy, reaching out to close his eyes.

She did the same for this boy, her fingers then trailing down to brush over his freckles and leaving bloody fingerprints in their wake.

Logical Sakura was gone, and Emotional Sakura was out for vengeance. Luckily for her, the kunoichi had stepped in the growing puddle of blood, leading a convenient trail for Sakura to follow. It did not take long for Sakura to catch up, but she was forced to hang back when she saw just who the red-haired woman had approached.

Guards. Not ninja, but enough to be a problem if Sakura and Kakashi wanted to keep up their covers and get off the island without too much trouble.

In a total change of personality, the kunoichi was screaming hysterically, gesturing to her stained clothing.

"I killed him!" she wailed repeatedly in a performance that Sakura could not fault. "I killed him!"

The men did not hesitate to handcuff her and lead her away. She did not struggle. Sakura frowned – she had deliberately turned herself in? Why?

"You, girl!" one of the guards shouted, grabbing her by the wrist. By instinct, Sakura pulled away but that only attracted the attention of more of the police force. As if in a daze, she watched them shackle her too, knowing she was capable of escaping in two seconds but _couldn't_.

Blood on her hands. Why did her missions always end with blood on her hands?

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you for all the reviews and follows. Also a heads up, very important exams coming up so while I hope to update this every two weeks, it might be a month before the next update.

**Next chapter:** **The New Warden**.


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